Farmers in the Alness/ Liverpool area in East Berbice can expect some relief from flooding with the construction of a new sluice valued some $46M in their community.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud yesterday commissioned the structure which had been promised to the residents in January 2009, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
According to GINA, Persaud encouraged the residents of the farming community to take care of the drainage system and to ensure they maximise the use of the structure. “We know close to 5,500 acres of land depend on a functioning and active drainage outlet and because of that we took the decision and committed close to $50M in constructing his sluice,” GINA quoted him as saying.
The new sluice will provide relief for farmers, alleviating flooding and severe crop losses, GINA said. It has a gate width of 6m and an invert level of 14.0m and is expected to provide drainage to 4,000 acres of land in the area.
According to GINA, the sluice also has the potential to drain 55mm per day, which is a 48% in increased capacity and farmers could expect improved soil workability conditions, more workable days and less damage to soil structure.
